Like most websites Channel 4 uses cookies. In order to deliver a personalised, responsive service and to improve the site, we remember and store information about how you use it. This is done using simple text files called cookies which sit on your computer. These cookies are completely safe and secure and will never contain any sensitive information. They are used only by Channel 4 or the trusted partners we work with. How to manage cookies

In order to deliver an optimised service, Channel 4 uses cookies. These are simple text files which sit on your computer, and are only used by us and our trusted partners. To find out about managing cookies, please see our Cookies Policy.

Press

Speed with Guy Martin
TX: 19 Jan 2013, Week 3

Motorcycle racer and lorry mechanic Guy Martin loves pushing the boundaries of speed in search of a buzz. He claims that nothing can match the adrenaline rush he gets when racing on public roads around the Isle of Man TT course at 200mph. So now he’s setting out to see if he can find anything that can give him the same kicks. In this four part series, he sets out to create four speed based challenges in which he will explore the boundaries of physics and learn about the science of speed.

In the final daredevil quest, Guy sets out to break the record for the world's fastest gravity powered sled. With the help of the UK's top sports science engineers, athletes and experts in composite engineering Guy will first build, then try to ride the toboggan on the unforgiving slopes of the Swiss Alps and reclaim the record from a group of thrill-seeking Germans who set it three years ago.

Guy heads to the world famous Cresta Run in St. Moritz to experience his first taste of going blisteringly fast on ice, before meeting up with a crack team of engineers from Sheffield Hallam University who help him build a prototype toboggan. He then meets the fastest woman to ever to have ridden a skeleton bob, Amy Williams, to get some tips on flying head-first down the 180 metre slope. He also visits Santa Pod raceway to race a drag bike, which will help him master precision steering using his body weight alone, and also help him find a way of stopping the sled safely - using a bespoke parachute system. The final record attempt takes place on the snowy peaks of Zermatt in the Swiss Alps where Guy will face a deathly steep slope and hopefully steer himself into the record books.

Executive Producer: James WoodroffeDirector: Ewan KeilProd Co: North One Tv

This week Guy is on a mission to do the seemingly impossible – fly using muscle power alone. He wants to build the world's fastest human powered aircraft - a plane without an engine that Guy will cycle into the air. He heads to Southampton University where, on November 9th 1961, Derek Piggot became the first man to fly under his own power. Forty-two years on, Guy is ready to break into the history books with another team from the University.

They’ve got seven months to build a plane from scratch and equip Guy with the skill, power and endurance to pilot it. He begins by learning how to fly a glider with stunt pilot Guy Westgate. He also visits a velodrome to measure his cycling power output and embarks on a programme of intense physical training. Finally, Guy is ready to put his plane to the test against the UK's leading engineers in the Icarus Cup, where he will set out to pilot the fastest HPA the world has ever seen.

Executive Producer: James WoodroffeDirector: Ewan KeilProd Co: North One Tv

Episode 2 - Hydroplaning Bike, Thursday 5 January, 8pm, Channel 4

In the second film Guy attempts to set the world record for riding a motorcycle on the surface of water. With the help of a Cambridge professor and a team of marine engineers, Guy's stunt hinges on Sir Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion - where every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If he can maintain enough speed on his bike, the 250 year old theory says he should be able to achieve the seemingly impossible - ride on water.

The team master the engineering on the back wheel and the extra fittings on the bike to enable it to skim across the surface of a lake. Crashing is inevitable so Guy has to endure a rigorous training schedule that first sees him try to make an underwater escape from a submersion rig and then conduct a series of dizzying trial runs, hitting the water at 30mph head first. The final record attempt takes place at Bala Lake in Snowdonia - so deep a 10-storey building could be submerged in it - with Guy surrounded by an army of rescue teams and emergency divers.

Executive Producer: Ewan KeilDirector: James WoodroffeProd Co: North One Tv

Motorcycle racer and lorry mechanic Guy Martin loves pushing the boundaries of speed in search of a buzz. He claims that nothing can match the adrenaline rush he gets when racing on public roads around the Isle of Man TT course at 200mph. So now he’s setting out to see if he can find anything that can give him the same kicks. In this four part series, he sets out to create four speed based challenges in which he will explore the boundaries of physics and learn about the science of speed. Whether it’s slip-streaming a racing driver to ride a bicycle at over 100mph using pedal power, or seeing if he can ride a motorbike across a lake, Guy will seek to find out what makes things go fast by getting his hands dirty in a range of unique engineering projects. Along the way celebrities well known in the world of speed help him in his challenges.

To attempt, with the aid of slipstreaming, to break the British record for outright speed on a bicycle - an incredible 110mph, Guy recruits an unlikely team made up of a truck racer, an Olympic gold medallist, a bicycle builder and a design engineer more used to working on next-generation military aircraft. Together they work out how to modify a 1000 horsepower racing lorry to create a large enough slipstream for Guy to cycle in, and build a unique bicycle gearing system capable of triple figure speeds. With help from British Olympic track cyclist Laura Trott Guy undergoes a relentless training regime to get himself fit enough for the record attempt. As he lines up at Pendine Sands in Wales - scene of Sir Malcolm Campbell's historic land speed record attempts in Bluebird - it is without question the most dangerous thing this Isle of Man TT racer has ever done.

Executive Producer: Ewan KeilDirector: James WoodroffeProd Co: North One Tv

Past TX Information

SPEED WITH GUY MARTIN 3/4

03 Jun 2015, 00:00

R

S

HD

Guy Martin wants to build the world's fastest human powered aircraft: a plane without an engine that he will cycle into the air. He heads to Southampton University where, on 9 November 1961, Derek Piggot became the first man to fly under his own power. Now Guy is ready to break into the history books with another team from the university. They've got seven months to build a plane from scratch and equip Guy with the skill, power and endurance to pilot it. Stunt pilot Guy Westgate teaches him how to fly a glider. Guy also visits a velodrome to measure his cycling power output and embarks on a programme of intense physical training. Finally, Guy is ready to put his plane to the test against the UK's leading engineers in the Icarus Cup, where he sets out to pilot the fastest-ever human powered aircraft. Exec Prod: James Woodroffe; Dir: Ewan Keil; Prod Co: North One TV